In the beginning of Persepolis we are given a clear reason for Satrapi's novel "I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists" (1) Satrapi sees an injustice that she is commenting on. She does not like the perception many people have of her home country of Iran. In Killingsworth's Rhetorical Situations he says an author may be inspired to write "by an event that needs interpretation and reflection" or "by and attitude the author would like to change" (27) Both of these reason hold true in Satrapi's writings.
Topically it seems that Satrapi really writes to change an attitude. She shows a side of Iran, that most people are not aware of. In today's media we have skewed view of Iran as a whole. Perhaps in part due to our own biases created by the events of 9/11. Which also brings to light the idea that the author's exigence is not solely one idea for one audience. For different audiences Satrapi has different purposes. Perhaps to an American or French audience the novel brings to light our misconceptions and tries to fix them. However for another audience, for fellow Iranians, the exigence of the piece is a sort of reflection or catharsis. It serves to bring people together under similar circumstances. Perhaps it gives an Iranian the feeling that they are not alone and allows one to explore their feelings on similar happenings.
This brings me to the conclusion that an author may have several different types of exigence in one piece. Often there is not one simple reason for writing and even if there is depending on the audience the author's purpose can be interpreted differently.
I agree that the author probably has a different purpose for each audience she is targeting. I think that her primary audience is westerners, or at least people from outside Iran. She spends a lot of time explaining basic information that the average Iranian would know, so I think her primary goal is definitely to address the misconceptions held by outsiders, rather than to tell her own story to insiders.
ReplyDeleteI think it is also a primary reason for the simplicity of the pictures, the black and white coloring, and the child-like view of Marji. She is taking a situation that is generally rather confusing and simplifying it for people to understand and reach a wider audience.
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